Who are you calling PIGS now? www.ft.com/content/4f82...

Bardella's no fool. He once said his (far-right) French party shouldn't ignore the seriousness of climate change, because that would be to make the same sort of mistake as the left did when it ignored the issue of immigration www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

US government to fund Maga-aligned think-tanks and charities in Europe - as.ft.com/r/8bb9835b-a... via @FT

FT exclusive: “The US state department is set to fund Maga-aligned think-tanks and charities across Europe to disseminate Washington’s policy positions and challenge perceived threats to free speech.” via @annasophiegross.bsky.social and colleagues

The far right in France has changed out of all recognition since the antisemitic heyday of Jean-Marie Le Pen - and that makes them electable latest revie of the new book Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe (Hurst) www.thenewworld.co.uk/denis-macsha...

'Soon, the French far right will come to power for the first time since the end of the Second World War....' (Philippe Marliere in Literary Review on Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe) - literaryreview.co.uk/normal-circu...

Journalists in London: the AEJ has the event 'Will a far-right France lead to a far-right Europe?' (related to my new book Far-Right France) on Feb 11 at 4pm. Register at the link below if interested. aej-uk.org/2026/01/30/w... For other events, including public ones, see victormallet.org. Thanks!

31 point swing, from 17-up to 14-down

Early or what? This from Kent today. A few primroses too, but the internet assures me that's not so unusual.

A far-right government in France would have a shattering impact on the EU. Interview in Spain's Agenda Publica about the new book Far-Right France. ( victormallet.org ) - agendapublica.es/noticia/2063...

"Perhaps most dispiriting for many Europeans was realising the French had been right all along." www.economist.com/europe/2026/...

The ‘Little West’ takes on the new world order - as.ft.com/r/7f60ef0f-4... via @FT

Brilliant and succinct column from Simon Kuper on the world today: The ‘Little West’ takes on the new world order - as.ft.com/r/7f60ef0f-4... via @FT

The First Fascist — the wild adventures and sinister legacy of the Marquis de Morès - as.ft.com/r/fbc5fd89-6... via @FT

John tries to hold out hope but it's only a glimmer, because the decline is very steep indeed: How steep is Trump’s democratic backsliding? - as.ft.com/r/218af521-f... via @FT

The far right in Europe grows bolder, even if this proposal by Italian extremists (inc Veneto Skinheads) for mass deportation of migrants is unlikely to become law, for now. [ victormallet.org ]Italian far-right activists push for ‘remigration’ law. as.ft.com/r/e182666a-a...

Happy Publication Day @vjmalletft.bsky.social! Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe is out now 🎉 'A crisply written, meticulously researched narrative with the structure of a long-read news feature.’ — @observeruk.bsky.social 25% off w/code FRANCE25 ➡️ tinyurl.com/3bkxkurr

✍️'A crisply written, meticulously researched narrative with the structure of a long-read news feature: factual, analytical but easy to digest, and free of polemic.' Read the @observeruk.bsky.social’s brilliant review of Far-Right France by @vjmalletft.bsky.social👇 observer.co.uk/culture/book...

What are the chances of the far right winning control of France within 18 months? Read 'Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe', on sale today. (Clue: quite high, and probably much higher than you think.) See victormallet.org

"Victor Mallet finds out who these ‘ordinary working people’ who support the RN are, and what they want" - Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe reviewed by Kim Willsher in The Observer. observer.co.uk/culture/book...

Far-Right France, reviewed in The Arab Weekly by Francis Ghilès: 'The inexorable rise of the French hard-right since the turn of the century makes it very plausible that the Rassemblement National (RN) will win the presidency in 2027.' thearabweekly.com/rassemblemen... See victormallet.org for more

'He asks the right questions but has the wrong answers' was said of French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen by Socialist PM Laurent Fabius back in 1984, an idea reprised in this great column from Rana Foroohar: Trump is the wrong answer to the right questions - as.ft.com/r/7933bb9e-4...

Review in the Irish Independent today - Far-Right France by Victor Mallet: The Le Pen dynasty, a family rift and the rise of the National Rally | Irish Independent m.independent.ie/world-news/e...

I think this is the most important article I've written for a while: a trip to Sudan to report on the UN's refugee agency. Battered by Trump's cuts and western retreat, can humanitarianism survive? as.ft.com/r/f137508d-d...

Ed Luce, Thant Myint-U - my new book Far-Right France was on sale w/yr Zbig and Peacemaker masterpieces at Waterstones Piccadilly today. Believe it or not, I used to sell men's suits as a holiday job in this very place when it was the Simpsons of Piccadilly department store in the 1970s!-

FEB 16 - France, UK, US; Le Pen, Bardella, Farage,Trump: The populist right is on the rise across the world, so what happens next? I'll be on a panel with Faisal Al Yafai, Anna Gross and Matthew Holehouse to discuss and take your questions. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/panel-disc...

A great launch last night for @vjmalletft.bsky.social’s latest book Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe at @dauntbooks.bsky.social! 🥂 Copies available now in all good bookstores and from the Hurst website at 25% off with code FRANCE25 ➡️ tinyurl.com/3bkxkurr

Thanks to @dauntbooks.bsky.social and @hurstpublishers.bsky.social and everyone who came for the launch. It was a blast!

Must read geopolitics story today on China's dominance in drone manufacturing, and how it sells to both sides in Europe's war

I think part of the reason everyone is so blown away by this Carney speech is it's so long since we heard an actual grown-up articulate serious thoughts about the world. Empty vessels have been making a lot of noise

Is France going far-right? How worried (or triumphant) should you be? Find out in Far-Right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe victormallet.org

The German far right, which toys with neo-Nazism, is courting Trump, as this FT article shows. The French far right does nothing of the sort: Le Pen and Bardella, pragmatists that they are, are very wary of being linked to the Trump brand - see victormallet.org - and as.ft.com/r/1319bd25-3...

“What is about Marine Le Pen? What is it about Nigel Farage that actually makes people want to vote for them?” @vjmalletft.bsky.social joins @faisalalyafai.bsky.social @newlinesmag.bsky.social The Lede to discuss his new book “Far-Right France.” Full ep: newlinesmag.com/podcast/insi...

We use maps every day to understand the world around us, but it's worth remembering that each map is a simplication of a fluid and infinitely complex reality. All maps are political. 'Radical Cartography' reviewed: Do maps distort our view of the world? - as.ft.com/r/3a7a580a-e... via @FT

'Improper ideology'? Trump's America really is going full 1984... www.npr.org/2026/01/13/n...

Brilliant on-the-ground reporting, this:

Guilty or not guilty? Either way the French far right is in pole position for future national elections... victormallet.org and see NYT story on the trial www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w.... victormallet.org

My VERY short chatty book coming in Feb. buijones.com/books/everyt... --delighted to have blurbs from Cindy Yu, Tania Branigan & Victor Mallet as well as @davidmoserbeijing.bsky.social who calls it "readable, enjoyable, and quotable (with) much to offer China savvy folk as well as casual readers.”

Will the far right gain power in France, and if so, how will it compare to other right-wing movements across the globe? Victor Mallet joins @faisalalyafai.bsky.social  on The Lede to discuss his new book “Far-Right France.” 

Et il est déjà janvier! victormallet.org

Victor Mallet - Far-Right France Marine Le Pen and the Future of Europe À paraître en janvier chez Hurst

Far right in France - victormallet.org - still on a roll, says survey in Le Monde: Record 42% of French agree with ideas championed by RN, vs 29% in 2022. www.lemonde.fr/politique/ar...

Europe needs to think the unthinkable on Nato - as.ft.com/r/f8ed0e4e-8... via @FT

What happens if (or when) the far right takes power in France? Enjoy this in-depth podcast interview with Faisal Al Yafai about the subject of my new book - victormallet.org podcast here - newlinesmag.com/podcast/insi...

Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 78, and eight other defendants are attending a mitigation hearing at Hong Kong's West Kowloon Law Courts. In full: buff.ly/13tLMEu